


Flowers for Makkachin

by nineth_lion



Category: Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, I don't know what I'm doing, M/M, Minor Character Death, Slow Burn, but angst is there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2019-09-28 06:53:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17178014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nineth_lion/pseuds/nineth_lion
Summary: Viktor Nikiforov teaches a course for mentally challenged adults. He loves his job, and he loves his students. Yuuri Katsuki is one such student, and Viktor couldn't be more proud of the progress Yuuri has made in his class. When an opportunity arises for Yuuri to take part in an highly experimental new treatment designed to increase his capacity for learning, Viktor and Yuuri must find a way to navigate Yuuri's rapidly increasing intellect, and with it, the complexities that arise in their relationship.





	1. Bread and Butter

**Author's Note:**

> I read Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and couldn't stop thinking about it. This piece marks my first work on this site, as well as the revival of my creative writing. I'm a bit rusty, and the story takes a while to get going, but please bear with me. Even if you haven't read Flowers for Algernon, I hope you still enjoy!

Viktor rubbed the last of the sleep from his eyes before pushing open the door to his classroom. Once inside, he flicked on the lights and sat at his desk, nursing his coffee while reviewing the materials for that day’s lesson.

As usual, Yuuri Katsuki was first in the door, twenty minutes early, out of breath, and toting a large green messenger bag.

“Mr. Nikiforov! Did you read my comp’sition yet? I tried real hard, sir, to use that punctuation you taught us. The little period with a tail. To separate parts of the sentences, sir.”

Viktor couldn’t help the warm feeling that rose in his chest at that.

“Yes, yes, I read it. We could go over it now, before class starts, if you’d like?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

Grinning widely, Yuuri dragged a chair over to the side of the Viktor’s desk and sat with his hands resting on his knees. He strained forward slightly to catch a glimpse of the papers being shuffled through Viktor’s hands. The grin dropped suddenly when he saw the markings on his paper.

“Sure is a lot of red, sir,” he mumbled, “Promise I really did try.”

Viktor glanced down at the papers in his hands, reviewing the shakily formed graphite letters and his own neat remarks in red.

MY WEEKND

BY: YUURI KATSUKI

MY WEEKND, WAS REEL GUD. I SAW, LOTS OF BERDS OUTSID MY WIND DOW. THEY WER, REEL ~~BEWTI~~ ~~BEEWTI~~ PRETY, AND I TRYED AND TRYED , TO FEED THEM. BUT, THEY KEPT ON, RUNIN WAY WELL NOT REELY I GUSS THEY WIR FLYNG WAY. BUT THEY WER REEL PRETY SO, IM GLAD I GOT TO SE EM.

He turned to face Yuuri and smiled gently. “I know,” he said quietly, “I know you did.”

For the next twenty minutes he sat bent over his desk, Yuuri’s eyes never leaving the paper, as he explained again how to use commas and corrected Yuuri’s spelling mistakes. By the time they were finished, Viktor’s coffee had grown cold and Yuuri’s cheeks were flushed a light pink with concentration.

“Right,” said Viktor, “the other students are coming in now, so we’d better stop here.”

Yuuri nodded and hurriedly pushed his chair back in line with the others.

Turning his attention to the rest of his class, Viktor cleared his throat and began, “Alright, today we’re going to be working on reading some more. I brought in a short story for you all, one of my favorites, called ‘The Crow and the Pitcher’,” he looked around the classroom briefly, “Shelly, why don’t you start us off reading…”

As class wrapped up, Viktor handed back his student’s compositions and reminded them of their assignment due at the end of the week. His students trailed out of the room, chatting amongst themselves, leaving Yuuri fidgeting awkwardly at his desk.

“I brought you something,” he said, reaching into his messenger bag and drawing out a loaf of bread, “I asked Dad to make an extra so I could bring you it. Here.”

He thrust his arms out and Viktor took the bread, thanking Yuuri for his gift. As Yuuri turned to gather his things to leave, Viktor placed a hand on his arm.

“Yuuri, I –” he paused, thinking, “I just wanted to let you know I’m very proud of the progress you’ve been making. You work very hard, and I hope you continue taking these classes.”

Yuuri smiled and grabbed Viktor’s hand.

“Oh, I will sir! Thank you for saying such nice things. You have a good day, Mr. Nikiforov. I hope you like your bread. Dad worked real hard to make it taste good like I asked,” he said, before slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking out the door.

Viktor turned towards his desk, heart full from Yuuri’s simple gesture. He tossed his laptop and papers into his backpack before carefully nestling the bread on top. Frowning, he decided it would be better to just carry it, ensuring it didn’t get squished in his jostling bag during his commute home. Just as he was heading out, already planning his dinner for the night, an older man leaned in and rapped on the open door.

“Yakov, I wasn’t expecting to see you. I thought you’d be busy over at the lab,” Viktor said, referring to the neighboring university.

Yakov ignored Viktor’s implied question and gestured towards Viktor’s hands, still clasping the bread.

“A gift from one of your students?”

Viktor sighed, “Yeah, Yuuri Katsuki. He’s the one I told you about before, from the bakery?”

Yakov nodded and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Actually, he’s the reason I’m here. Folks at the lab say they’re ready to move into human trials, and I know that boy is special to you. Thought you might like to give him a chance to, well, y’know…”

“Give him a chance to what?” Viktor replied, with a slight edge to his voice.

“Well, you know, become something. Make something of himself.”

“He already _is_ something, Yakov.”

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

Viktor stared at Yakov for several seconds before exhaling sharply.

“I’ll talk to him,” he replied at length.

Yakov clapped Viktor on the shoulder. “You do that. Have an answer for me by Friday, you know how these people are,” he paused, searching Viktor’s face before softening his tone, “This will be good for him. You know that.”

“I don’t. Neither do you. And neither do they.”

Yakov opened his mouth, starting to reply, before Viktor cut him off.

“I’ll talk to him, but I’m telling him the truth. It’ll be his decision, in the end.”

“That’s just fine, Nikiforov. Just fine.”

Viktor watched as Yakov left the room, then turned his attention back to the bread he held in his hands. His heart no longer felt quite so full and there was a lump in his throat he couldn’t quite swallow. Underneath it all, though, was something he wasn’t expecting, something he was ashamed to feel. Beneath a heart weighed down with worry, something fluttered in his stomach. Hope.


	2. Cherries

Vikor returned to his classroom early the next day, having spent a sleepless night trying to work out how to approach Yuuri. He swished his coffee around his mouth absently, dropping his bag at his desk and collapsing into his chair. He glanced at the clock.

6:13.

Yuuri should be making his way into the classroom in a bit, Viktor thought, and dropped his head into his hands. He carded his hands through his hair, a nervous habit that Yakov joked was the cause of his thinning locks. Exhaling through his teeth, Viktor snatched his jacket from the desk and walked briskly towards the door.

Looking around furtively, he headed towards the building’s back exit. Outside, he glanced around once more. Satisfied that nobody was around, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He had promised Yakov that he had kicked his habit, but every so often he needed the nicotine to soothe his racing thoughts. Holding a cigarette between his lips, he cupped his hands and held the flame to the tip. He inhaled shallowly, paused, then took a deep drag.

He would just explain to Yuuri exactly what was happening, he decided. Keep it short and simple, and let him decide. Viktor couldn’t deny that he wanted Yuuri to be able to learn without the difficulties his handicap created, but he wanted to make sure Yuuri was aware of what he was agreeing to.

But, he interrupted himself, Yuuri couldn’t possibly make this decision. As much as he respected his student, and even loved him in a way, Viktor knew that he just wasn’t capable of making such a major decision himself. Viktor hated to impose such restrictions on his students, fully believing that they were complete and whole as they were, but the simple fact was Yuuri didn’t have the mental capacity to consent to such an experiment. Of course, legally speaking, Yuuri’s parents would sign the papers giving consent to the university to perform research on their son, but the Viktor refused to even broach the subject with them without first speaking with Yuuri.

Viktor also had to admit that the situation was bigger than either himself or Yuuri. The outcome of the experiment had the potential to help his students and so many others overcome the obstacles before them. It could help so many people _. Yuuri_ could help so many people.

The red cherry at the end of his cigarette was crawling nearer towards the butt, and he could feel the smoke burning more in his lungs with each drag he took. Viktor ground the cigarette into the bricks of the building wall and tossed the extinguished butt into a nearby trash can. Popping a piece of gum into his mouth, he headed back inside.

Entering his classroom, he started guiltily when he saw Yuuri standing in the middle of the room, looking lost.

“Yuuri!” Viktor called, “I’m so sorry, I stepped out for a moment. I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Oh! Mr. Nikiforov. I knew I was in the right place, checked the number on the door and everything like always. I thought maybe you got lost this time!” he smiled mischievously, then added hastily, “Sir!”

Viktor chuckled and shook his head. “You don’t have to call me sir, Yuuri. I’ve told you before, I’m a teacher but I’m not your superior.”

Yuuri cocked his head, frowning. “But Mom always says I gotta call people ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ and always ‘member to thank ‘em and treat ‘em real nice. And I dunno what s’perior means, sir, but I do know that out of all the people I’ve met before, you’re the one I wanna be most nice to.”

Viktor suddenly felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed, and replied after a beat, “Well, Yuuri. That’s alright, then. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable here, so call me anything you like.

By the way, the bread was delicious. I ate it with dinner last night, and I liked it so much I had it again for breakfast this morning. You be sure to tell your Dad he’s a talented man, and I wanted to thank you again for being so thoughtful.”

“Aw, it wasn’t nothing, sir. Dad’ll be happy you liked it, ‘s his own recipe, special,” Yuuri glanced towards Viktor’s backpack sitting on the desk, “D’ya have more reading for me today? I really like those ones with those fables.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk with you about something else this morning, if that’s alright,” Viktor said, gesturing towards a desk.

Yuuri nodded and sat, and Viktor pulled a chair around to face him.

“Yuuri, you know I’m proud of the work you do in this class. I don’t want to tell your classmates I said this, but I see that you work harder than anybody else here. I appreciate the work you’re doing, and you’ve been improving much faster than anybody else who’s taken this course,” Viktor took a deep breath, “But you don’t think like other people, Yuuri. Your brain is different, and it makes it so that you have to work so much harder to do things like read and write.”

“I know, sir, and I promise you I’ll try harder. I’m sorry my last comp’sition had so many mistakes, but I’ll try harder next time sir, really I – “

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. You’re not bad, Yuuri, and you haven’t done anything wrong. Listen, the university’s Department of Neuroscience and Technology has been working on a project to help people like you.”

“What kind of project?”

“They’re trying to make it so that your brain can learn and retain information more efficiently. Learning things like new spellings and grammar would be faster, and you wouldn’t have to work so hard to remember things. They just successfully completed their animal testing stage, and they want to move into human testing. Yesterday, my good friend, a scientist at the university, asked me if you wanted to participate in the project as a human subject. They’d perform a surgery on you, and after you’d have to stay with them at the lab for a long time while they gave you tests.”

“Sir, I really want to learn more. I love reading and writing, and I wanna get better at it. I want to read like you do, Mr. Nikiforov. You know all the words and you never get confused about how to say them, even the long ones, and you read so fast and you know how to use commas. I want to be a part of the project, please, sir, I want to learn better. I want to be smart. I want them to make me smart.”

Yuuri stared at Viktor with determined eyes. Viktor’s heart hurt for reason’s he wasn’t completely sure of, but he continued, “You need to understand, Yuuri, that this project is still very experimental. They don’t know if it’ll work on a human subject, and there’s a possibility that you might end up getting hurt in the process. Badly hurt, Yuuri.”

Viktor paused, and opened his mouth to continue, but Yuuri was already shaking his head.

“I don’t care about that sir. I want to be smart. I want to make you prouder of me than you’ve ever been.”

Viktor stared at his feet, unable to meet Yuuri’s eyes. “That’s what I thought you’d say. May I come home with you after class today, then? I need to speak with your parents about your involvement before anything can move forward.”

Yuuri’s eyes lit up. “Sure! Oh, I’ll ask Mom to make katsudon, it’s my favorite, and it’s special since I only get to eat it on important days like my birthday. But today’s real important since you’re coming over, so we can eat it!”

“That sounds wonderful, Yuuri. I’m looking forward to it.”

A few more students came walking through the door, finding their seats and pulling out the materials for the lesson. Viktor dragged his chair back to its desk, and sat down at his desk while he waited for the rest of his students to come in.

Class began, but Viktor couldn’t seem to focus on his lesson. Try as he might to bring his attention to the grammar structures he was teaching, his mind kept straying to the dark-haired boy at the front of his class and his shining eyes. God, he hoped those eyes would keep shining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just wanted to put a quick note here. I have to admit my experience working with neuroatypical and mentally handicapped people is limited to my experiences tutoring and volunteering, so if I handle the subject wrong or insensitively, please don't hesitate to let me know and suggest alterations. Thanks for readings guys, and I hope you'll stay with me through the completion of this


	3. Katsudon

Viktor shoveled a piece of breaded pork cutlet into his mouth.

“Wow! Delicious!” he couldn’t help but exclaim at the flavors that exploded in his mouth. Juicy, tender, with just the right amount of fat… much better than anything he usually ate on his meager teacher’s salary.

Hiroko Katsuki beamed. “I’m glad you enjoy it so much. Yuuri was so insistent we make this for you, it’s his favorite, you know.”

Viktor was too busy eating to reply. Instead, Toshiya cleared his throat.

“Mr. Nikiforov, my son told us when you arrived that you had something important to tell us. He wouldn’t tell us what it was, so I was hoping you could elucidate? Yuuri, ‘elucidate’ means ‘to explain’. Elucidate.” He drew out the last word and looked at Yuuri expectantly.

Yuuri, eyes downcast, struggled with the word. “Eh-loo-se-date.”

“Honey, let him be. He can talk the way he wants to,” Hiroko said.

Viktor swallowed, then frowned. He didn’t like the tone Mr. Katsuki took with his son. “Right… well, you see, erm…” he wasn’t sure how to start.

Yuuri solved the problem for him. “Mr. Nikiforov’s gonna help make me smart!”

“No! That’s not—”

Mari jumped in, throwing down her chopsticks. “My brothers is perfectly fine the way he is. He doesn’t need your fancy little college degree to be worth something. Those classes were supposed to be free, don’t tell me you’re gonna enroll him in some silly college course and then rob us blind. Yuuri doesn’t need that.”

Viktor held up his hands in surrender. “No, no, you misunderstand me. I’m not here advertising for the university. I have a friend in the Department of Neuroscience and Technology…”

He spent the next half hour explaining the experiment and answering questions from Yuuri’s parents and sister. They sat in silence for a while, before Yuuri spoke in a small voice.

“Mom, Dad, I really want to do this. Please, let me.”

Hiroko’s expression softened, and she took her son’s face in her hands. “Yuuri, you don’t need this. You’re enough. Enough for me and your dad and your sister. You’ve always been enough.” She gave a pointed look towards her husband.

“Mom, please. I know I’m… I’m not like you. My brain doesn’t work and I get confused real badly. Mr. Nikiforov is giving me a chance to be like him, and you, and everyone else. I won’t be confused so much, and you won’t have to worry so much about looking after me. I want this.”

Hiroko sighed and let her hands drop. Toshiya spoke up.

“Well I for one think it’s a great idea. Bring the boy up to speed a bit.”

“Toshiya, stop it,” Hiroko said sharply.

“No, I mean it. He’s slow, Hiroko. No getting around it.”

“I said stop it!”

“No. This is the chance we’ve been waiting for, Hiroko. Yuuri can finally be fixed.”

“He’s not broken!” Hiroko’s voice broke on the last syllable. “He’s not broken,” she repeated softly.

Viktor cleared his throat awkwardly. “Look, if now’s not a good time… I can come back later after you’ve had some time to discuss. I do want to mention that through his participation, Yuuri would be contributing to groundbreaking research. Research that could help lots of people.”

Yuuri considered Viktor for a moment, then leaned over to Hiroko and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened slightly, then fell. She set her mouth in a determined line.

She turned to face Viktor.

“My son will participate in your experiment. You take good care of him.”

“I- I will. Thank you.” Viktor wasn’t sure what else to say. Nothing other than a simple ‘thank you’ seemed appropriate.

Looking around the table, Viktor noticed that Mari’s face had suddenly grown somber. He wondered what Yuuri had said to his mother.

Toshiya slapped his son on the back. “That’s it. We’ll get you righted in no time.”

Viktor frowned. “I want to reiterate, Mr. Katsuki. This experiment is designed for research purposes. Your son is helping in a not insignificant manner and we’re very grateful to him for that. We’re not trying to fix some perceived problem in your son; as Mrs. Katsuki said, he’s not broken. We just want to make life easier for him and for others like him. I hope you’ll keep this in mind through the duration of the experiment.”

Viktor stood, leaving his half-finished katsudon at the table. “Thank you for the dinner, Mrs. Katsuki. It was lovely, but I have to get going. Class starts bright and early, and I need to be alert for my students. Thank you again. Yuuri, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Hiroko stood to help Viktor to the door. As he began walking towards his car, Mari grabbed his arm. He started. He hadn’t seen her follow him out.

“Mr. Nikiforov. I’m counting on you to look after my brother. I mean really look after him. Don’t… don’t let them mess him up. If he comes out of this badly, I’ll never forgive you. I mean that, Mr. Nikiforov.”

Viktor swallowed. “I promise. Yuuri will be okay.” He ignored the pit in his stomach and forced a smile. “I care about him too. I wouldn’t have proposed the idea to your parents if I didn’t think Yuuri wanted to participate.”

Mari looked at Viktor for a long time, searching his face. Satisfied, she released his arm. “Okay. Just remember, you promised.” She went back inside.

Viktor sighed, watching the steam from his breath curl and dissolve into the cool air. He was disgusted with the way Toshiya treated his son. Even more, he was disgusted with himself for lying to Mari and Hiroko when he couldn’t ensure Yuuri’s safety.

But, he was telling the truth when he said he cared about Yuuri. He vowed to keep his promise to Yuuri’s family. Despite his uncertainty, he decided then he would do everything in his power to keep Yuuri safe.

He sealed his promise with a cigarette on the drive home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, I'm trying to set up the main story and get everything in the right place before we get into the good stuff. I promise the next update will have actual plot though lmao.


	4. Quinoa

Yuuri brought in the papers, signed by his parents, the next day of class. Looking at them, holding them, it made it all feel so _real_ to Viktor. He spent the rest of the week in a haze of anxiety and anticipation. From what he could tell during his classes, Yuuri was eager to begin. Viktor did his best to ignore the pangs of guilt in his stomach when he saw Yuuri quietly smiling to himself during lessons. He ignored the lump in his throat each time Yuuri stayed after class to review his compositions, and he pretended not to notice when Yuuri tried to catch his eyes while Viktor was lecturing.

“Mr. Nikiforov?” Yuuri asked hesitantly.

Viktor looked up. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed Yuuri approach his desk. “Oh. Hi, Yuuri. What’s up?”

“I was just – I was wondering if you could, um, drive me to the surg’ry tomorrow? Mom and Dad have to work at the bakery, and Mari has classes… They would drive if I asked, but I don’t wanna cause ‘em any trouble, sir. And I thought, ‘cause tomorrow’s Saturday and you don’t have class, maybe you could drive me? If you can’t, that’s ok, I’ll just –”

“I’d be happy to. How does seven-thirty tomorrow morning sound?”

“Oh, that’s just great sir, thank you very much!”

“No problem.”

An awkward silence settled. Viktor cleared his throat, needing to fill the quiet that hung in the air around them.

“Um, Yuuri?”

“Yeah?”

“I… Well, uh, how – how are you feeling?”

“I’m real excited, sir. I’m starting to annoy Mari with how much I’ve been talking about it. She hasn’t said anything, but I can tell. She goes real quiet and just nods and says ‘mm-hm’ whenever I start talking about how they’re gonna make me smart.”

Viktor shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sure she’s not annoyed, just… worried.” _I’m worried about you, too,_ he added silently.

“Aw, she doesn’t have to worry about me. I told her, I did, I said, ‘Mr. Nikiforov’s a good person. He’ll look after me, I know it’, and anyways you’re smart too, so I know I’ll be okay.” He smiled at Viktor.

Viktor forced a smile back, feeling it tight and uncomfortable on his face. “Right. You’ll be just fine, Yuuri.”

Yuuri nodded, then hoisted his bag over his shoulder. “Well, I’ve gotta get going, Mom and Dad are expecting me back early today. Mom made katsudon for celebration of my surg’ry. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“See you then.”

Viktor watched him leave.

“Just fine,” he repeated to himself.

 

 

 

The next morning, Viktor knocked, bleary eyed, on the door of the Katsuki’s bakery. He heard rapid footsteps descending the stairs and was greeted shortly after by a grinning face.

“Hi, Mr. Nikiforov! I’m all set and ready to go.”

Viktor mumbled a reply, still sleepy and needing more coffee, and walked Yuuri back to his car.

Yuuri chatted excitedly while Viktor drove. When they pulled into the parking lot of the university’s medical center, however, Yuuri grew quiet. Viktor glanced over. Yuuri’s hands were twisting in his lap and his eyes were fixed on the building.

“Hey, you all right?”

Yuuri shifted his eyes to Viktor. “Oh, sure, Mr. Nikiforov. Just a little nervous, that’s all. I’ve never had surg’ry before. Mari had it once when she hurt her hand real bad though. Got it caught in the dough mixer.”

“You won’t feel anything. They put you to sleep, don’t worry. C’mon, I’ll walk with you inside.”

Together they mounted the steps up to the building. Though it was still early morning, Viktor could tell it was going to be a sweltering day. He commented on the fact to Yuuri.

“Hm? Oh, yeah,” Yuuri said distractedly. His eyes were once again trained on the door to the medical center.

“Hey,” Viktor said gently, “Don’t worry. I’ll be right there when you get out, I promise.”

He wasn’t sure what compelled him to stay. He had papers to grade and lessons to prepare, dammit! But one look at Yuuri’s face melted those thoughts away.

Yuuri’s eyes were shining – God, those eyes again – and for the first time since pulling up to the building he was smiling.

“Oh, thank you sir. You don’t have to do that though, really, I know you’re real busy, being a teacher and all.”

“No, it’s ok. I don’t mind, really.”

Viktor pushed open the door and they walked inside. Next was a whirlwind of white-coated doctors and papers pushed in Yuuri’s direction ( _hasn’t he already signed enough papers?_ Viktor thought) and medical terms Viktor couldn’t understand. Before he knew it, Yuuri was dressed in a hospital gowned being wheeled towards an operating room. Viktor smiled and waved as Yuuri disappeared through the doors, feeling foolish.

“He’s undergoing major surgery, not going off on vacation, you idiot,” he mumbled to himself, then collapsed into a chair in the waiting room.

Pulling out his phone, he scrolled absently through his Instagram feed. He quickly tired of looking at videos of goofy dogs and sat staring at the wall.

He spent the next six hours trying in vain to entertain himself to distract from the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Eventually he gave up and returned to staring at the wall.

_Yuuri’s in there, and it’s my fault._

_What if something goes wrong?_

_Oh, God, I should never have gotten him involved in this. This experiment… I wish Yakov never would’ve approached me._

_Calm down, Nikiforov. You’re not in a fucking K-drama. He’ll be fine._

_But what if he’s not?_

Suddenly a nurse appeared in front of Viktor, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Sir? Mr. Katsuki’s surgery is finished. If you’ll follow me, I can take you to his room, though it’ll be some time before he wakes up from the anesthesia.”

Viktor nodded and followed the nurse through a series of hallways before arriving in front of a wooden door marked “402”. The nurse opened the door and Viktor stepped in.

Inside, Yuuri was asleep on the bed, white bandages covering the top of his head. Viktor had somewhat expected him to be attached to all sorts of machines, beeping and blinking and surrounding Yuuri in a cold imitation of mourners at a funeral. Instead, he was greeted with a comfortable looking room and Yuuri attached to a single IV drip and a heart rate monitor. Lying there in his hospital bed, Viktor thought Yuuri looked very small.

He settled into a chair next to the bed and flicked through a magazine he found on the table nearby. He was in the middle of reading an article about twenty creative uses for quinoa when Yuuri spoke.

“Mr. Nikiforov, am I smart yet?”

Viktor set the magazine down and leaned towards Yuuri.

“Shh… You know the experiment will take time. You’ve gotta rest up though, so you can work hard during the testing. How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay. Head feels funny. Thirsty, too.”

Viktor handed poured him a glass of water from a waiting pitcher near the bed.

“Here, drink up. I’m proud of you Yuuri. You were really brave today.”

“Aw, it’s only cause you were here, sir. I’m glad you stayed.”

“Will your family be coming to visit you?”

“Yeah, Mari said she’d stop by after her classes finished today. What time is it anyways? I can’t see the clock too good without my glasses.”

“Just after seven.”

“Then she should be here pretty soon. Mom and Dad are coming by later after the bakery closes up.” Finished with his water, Yuuri set the glass on the bedside table. He looked up at Viktor.

“Will you… will you keep coming to see me, sir?”

“Of course. I’ll come by every week to check up on how you’re doing. Pretty soon you’ll be moving into the testing center, so I’ll come by next Saturday to visit you there.”

“Mm. Thanks, Mr. Nikiforov. I’m real glad you were my teacher this year. You’re so nice, the last one was real grumpy…” Drowsy from the medication in his IV, Yuuri yawned.

“Listen, I’ve gotta go now. I want to make sure you and Mari have some time together. Go ahead and sleep until she gets here. I’m proud of you, Yuuri.”

Yuuri only sighed in response.

Viktor gathered his things and headed out the door. On the drive home, Viktor was once again left alone with his thoughts.

_Nikiforov, you absolute piece of shit. Why’d you have to go and get him involved in all this?_

_He wanted to participate._

_Yeah, sure, but have you ever considered just not telling him about it?_

_But I owed it to Yakov. His research is his entire life. Besides, I want Yuuri to succeed. God knows he deserves to._

_He wasn’t successful already?_

Viktor sighed and shook his head. Moral dubiousness aside, he couldn’t deny that he wanted… more for Yuuri. He saw how hard he worked, and he wanted Yuuri to be able to achieve everything he wanted to. He saw the frustration in the crook of his mouth and the curve in his shoulders when Yuuri struggled with a word. He wanted to take all that away.

_Wow. Savior complex, much?_

_Fuck you, Nikiforov._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll what even is my writing style anymore. 
> 
> Anyways I tried a slightly new tone/structure for this chapter, so I hope the transition isn't too jarring. Also I decided to keep with a food theme for all the chapter names so if it's named something weird I apologize I'm just bad at naming things.


	5. Brownie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri's POV

Yuuri frowned.

“Well what do I write about?”

The lady in the white coat smiled.

“Anything you think or feel during the experiment, hon.”

Yuuri’s frown deepened. He was unused to writing about his feelings. Usually, when he wrote compositions for Mr. Nikiforov’s class, he told stories. He liked imagining that Mr. Nikiforov were there and Yuuri was telling him about his day. Other times, he invented new stories in his head and wrote them down. He had never really considered writing _just_ about his feelings. He was pretty sure nobody was interested in that. But he didn’t want to disappoint the woman, so he slowly nodded his head.

“Well, I guess that’s alright, then.”

“Great! We’ll get started with today’s baseline assessments right away, then.”

Yuuri’s head hurt. He reached up to rub it, only to meet the rough texture of the bandages covering his head. He didn’t like the bandages. He didn’t like how when he reached up, expecting to feel skin underneath his fingers, he instead felt scratchy cloth.

He wished the people around him didn’t use such big words like _baseline_ and _assessment_ and _monitor_. They only made his head hurt more. He missed his home and he missed Mari and he missed Mr. Nikiforov with his big smiles.

He turned his attention back to the lady in the white coat. She was pulling out a series of cards with pictures on them. He figured it must be more tests. There were a lot of tests for him, these days, only the weren’t the kind that Mr. Nikiforov gave. These tests were strange, often involving him having to find a picture in a big black blob or invent stories about people in photographs. Upon the thought of more tests, his head throbbed again. He reached up to rub at it, then remembered the bandages and put his hand back down.

He wished he knew what day it was. Mari and his parents weren’t allowed to visit the testing center, but Mr. Nikiforov could visit. He usually came on Saturdays. Yuuri liked Saturdays, he got to see Mr. Nikiforov and there weren’t any tests and on Saturdays they brought him ice cream after his dinner. At least, that’s what they told him. He hadn’t actually _had_ a Saturday yet, but he assumed he liked them.

The lady was speaking again. Yuuri tried to pay attention but his head kept distracting him.

He wished it were Saturday already.

 

 

After what felt like an eternity, the lady in the white coat packed away her cards and stood to leave.

“Good job today, hon. Keep this up and you’ll be flying past the rest of us in no time!” She offered another smile.

Yuuri smiled back, even though he had already decided he didn’t like this lady. Her teeth were too white and even, and when she smiled her red lips looked like an open wound. And the way she talked to him, Yuuri didn’t like that either. It reminded him of the way his father spoke to him, with the honey-sweet voice that Yuuri sometimes used when he talked with the stray dogs that wandered the streets.

_You’re a good boy, aren’t you? Don’t you want a treat?_

Yuuri knew he wasn’t as quick as other people, and he had to turn things over in his mind for a long time before he felt comfortable wielding them, but he wasn’t a _dog_. He determined, then, that he would work harder than he ever had in his life. He would grow smarter and stronger than these people in the white coats, and he would talk to them like dogs.

Yuuri’s brows knitted and the corners of his mouth quirked downwards. This feeling, this… wanting to _get back_ at them, to make them feel as he did – it was new. He didn’t like it and tried to turn his thoughts towards making Mr. Nikoforov proud. But that ugly feeling stayed inside him, coiled up in his belly and threatening up towards his throat like bile.

He had been sitting there in his bed for a good long time, fighting the acrid heat in his throat, when anther white-clad woman entered the room. She was different than the last, brown hair instead of yellow, lips thankfully bare of the blood-red stain.

“Hey there, Dr. Feltsman thought it would be good for you to meet your partner today. If you’ll follow me?” She spoke softly and gestured towards the door. Yuuri supposed he ought to follow her – not like he had anything to do in this room anyways – and stood from his bed.

Yuuri followed the woman through a series of halls and doors that all looked the same, before arriving in a room that was not dissimilar to his own. Only, instead of a bed, there was a large crate lying on the floor. The woman walked over to it, and with a quick glance toward Yuuri, she knelt and opened the door of the crate.

Out stepped a brown dog. Yuuri couldn’t help the delighted smile that spread across his face.

“You’re so _cute_!” He squealed and rushed to kneel in front of the dog. Reaching out, he allowed the dog to sniff his hand before burying it in the soft curls atop its head.

“His name is Makkachin. You and he are going to be seeing a lot of each other, so I’m glad you like him so much. And it seems he likes you too!” she added, as Makkachin began licking happily at Yuuri’s face.

“Makka-makka-chin! What a cute name. A cute name for a cute dog,” Yuuri said, smooshing Makkachin’s face in his hands. This wasn’t exactly what he’d pictured when the woman told him he had a partner, but he couldn’t be more delighted with the outcome.

“If you’ll wait right here, Yuuri, I’m going to go grab Dr. Feltsman so we can move on to the next stage in your testing,” the woman said, turning to leave.

Yuuri didn’t watch her go. His attention was held wholly by the fluffy dog in front of him. Before long, the door opened once more. The woman stepped in, this time accompanied by an older man.

“Mr. Katsuki,” the man said, offering a hand, “My name is Dr. Feltsman, but you can call me Yakov. I’m friends with your teacher, Viktor Nikiforov, and I’ll be overseeing the experiment. I see you’ve already become acquainted with Makka here.”

Yuuri nodded, and Makkachin chuffed at Yakov in reply.

“Excellent,” Yakov continued, clapping his hands together, “Then what are we waiting for? Come, let’s get going to the testing center.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! Sorry it took so long for an update, but since my summer vacation is here I'm hoping to be able to updated more often. If you're still around, thanks for being so patient!


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